Cheek lends chic to performance

Nothing served up in cabaret should come as a surprise, but with Chelsea Plumley expect the really unexpected.

This glamorous young woman set the crowd back on its collective heels when she introduced a song about a small tumour at the base of her brain. Plumley had discussed her medical condition with fellow actor/singer/composer Eddie Perfect, who came up with the delicately philosophical What If?. Talk about how to get an audience to hang on every word!

Plumley's revelation that at five she was unnaturally attracted to her teddy bear likewise inspired Perfect to a song about an aggrieved bruin pleading for recognition as a toy not a dildo, How Much can a Teddy Bear Bear?

Abundant natural talent as a singer, actress and pianist carries Plumley comfortably through a wide range of songs - from the Liza Minnelli standby The Singer to a Sesame Street medley and Simon and Garfunkel standards - but it is her cheeky humour that sets her apart.

She seems driven by a writer's sensibility and her amusing stories (about her trip to India, for example) and musings linking the songs are unique. She expounded at some length on the drawbacks of marrying yourself (could you fake an orgasm without hurting the other party's feelings?) and her Grease medley revolved around her account of playing Rizzo while frantically doubling as a keyboard player in the band.

A witty Victoria Wood monologue about directing a Hamlet staged by staff of a Hooters restaurant in the Deep South confirmed her natural comedy bent.

Plumley is a versatile, accomplished entertainer and her act, right through to the impeccable accompaniments by the trio led by Michael Tyack, smacks of thorough preparation and a keen sense of who she is and where she is going. Onward and upward is a fair guess.